Painting with Red
by Odeletta
Summary: Mafia AU. The Vargas and Carriedo families have been at war for centuries and even in the modern age it does not stop. There is no end in sight and the situation complicates when one family takes something precious from the head of another family. Chaos ensues and innocents find themselves entangled in the situation as well. [Note that Andres Carriedo is a darker version of Spain]


She absolutely _adored _painting, almost to the point that her own passion would eventually consume her. But she had yet to be broken down, even he did not possess the endurance that she had. At the same time, he was kept alive by her own passion, no just her by his side would be enough. He was reminded that he really did have something precious to protect after all, and that happened to be her of all people. He had never thought of himself ever of falling in love, instead feeling pure lust and able to enjoy the sex without any true emotion, but his tastes had shifted dramatically when he had met her, and eventually let himself grow close to another once more. No longer had it been pure lust and rough sex, but now he had been _making love _and it was the most wonderful thing that he had ever experienced in his life. He felt red splattered across his face suddenly at the rather inappropriate thoughts he had of her, and immediately a hand went to cover his face. After a few moments of contemplation and gathering his composure, the Spanish man cleared his throat quietly as not to disturb the young woman… Yet. But he had to speak to her sooner rather than later, he would be unable to leave her and her wonderful art if he just continued to procrastinate. "Mi amore…" He murmured quietly, his silky accented voice contrasting with his roughened looks that had come about of the years. He could hardly recall the times when he had been a good young man, always avoiding the crowds that he now spent his time with. But, he had reflected with a certain bitterness, this had always meant to be, after all he had been the heir to his father's highly 'prestigious' and infamous gang.

"What is the matter, Andres?" A gentle voice murmured, surprising him out of his thoughts. He found himself drowning into deep pools of emerald before he reminded himself of what he was about to do and looked away, blushing furiously. He could nearly feel the frown that had been placed upon the Belgian woman's lighter features, nearly cringing himself as well. It was because that she was such a weakness for him that he was leaving her, for his own sake and for her protection as well. She need not get involved with the highly suspicious and illegal activities that he put himself in, all because of his position in his own family. Besides, she would more than likely wind up dead before any police could come get out of the hellish mess she would be in, if she were to entangle herself even more with himself.

"I am afraid that I must leave you for quite some time…" He was making sound like he was actually coming back for her, when in reality he would not. In fact, after that he would do everything in his power to avoid her and anyone that had connections to her as well. As much as it would pain the both of them to be separated, he would not be the only one hurt in his decision to leave, it was simply for the best for them to part ways. Although he knew that he had no future for him left, at least not a future in his control, but he wanted his lover to live out her life in peace and happiness. Not anxiety and bitter anger that he would bring to the table if they remained in this life that they had created together. Funny that he had never ended a relationship with anyone else before, it was always him getting dumped because he simply was too cold for other women's tastes. But now he was severing the relationship with the woman he _loved _and he knew that she loved him back just as much. Otherwise his departure would have been in much haste and without him caring about the woman's feelings at all, which indeed was all too typical of his own behaviour.

"Oh I see…" The feminine voice was quiet and her usually bright green orbs dimmed with obvious sadness at his revelation. Obviously she thought he had stopped loving her and that he had decided to throw her away, as if nothing had ever occurred between the two of them. But it was far from the truth, although he could not admit it out loud to her. He would have to keep it secret from both her and the many others that would question him when he arrived back to the mansion that he resided in. "It was a wonderful time that we shared together, nevertheless… I will never regret it in my life, I will never stop loving you even if you had stopped loving me long ago." With that statement, Andres felt himself pull the much more small, feminine figure into his arms, holding her protectively against her. He buried his face into her golden locks, not caring if he was made a mess of by the clothing she wore for painting. Her sobs were quiet and she almost seemed as if she were meek, when in reality she was far from that. But even the strongest of people were plucked down by sadness, especially when it was dealing with a loss of love. But his Clementine would survive on, that much he knew of the woman held in his arms at the moment, but he found himself thinking that he did not want her to live a life without him as well.

"Oh no… No, it is not that I do not love you anymore, my Clementine." He gently lifted her chin up so he could view her features for a few moments longer. Every time he saw her, he couldn't help but get shivers down her spine, she was quite a beautiful woman yet her beauty was… Indescribable. He gently wiped away her tears that were staining the pale skin and gently kissed the top of her head, wanting to show his own affection for her before it was too late. "I will always love you, never forget that." He placed a smile upon his usually frowning features, it was genuine but it was not plagued by sadness as he had expected it to be. He continued on with his statements, his expression eventually growing into a more solemn one but he continued to hold her close to him and felt comforted by her warmth. "I must leave for a long time because of business, I would take you with me but it's far too long a matter to deal with, and I honestly think that you would not be happy there."

"But I will always be happy with you Andres, no matter where we are at! I want to stay with you, please…"

"They always say that… That they will be happy by the side of their lovers, but in the end they break apart." He murmured with almost a sad tone but his expression was emotionless and his eyes held multiple emotions that could not be read properly. Clementine nodded slowly and wiped the remaining tears off her face, her features being quite red and puffy after her sobs had taken over. "I do not wish to see you wilt away like that, Clementine, I don't want to lose you." He took one of her hands and kissed each one of the fingers gently, one last show of affection. "But I promise to return to you, that is a promise that I am sure to keep…" He murmured, seeing room for one last final lie that would hopefully keep her heart intact from the deep wounds he was sure to be causing at the moment. He viewed her once again, seeing that her expression of sadness still lingered upon her face but now there was a certain determination in her eyes that reassured him of her stability. It was as if she was already preparing herself to live without him by her side, and to live life alone once more, it would get hard to be used to the situation, for both of them and not just her.

"I suppose this is goodbye until we meet again, Andres Carriedo Fernandez… Whenever that is, I will be the happiest woman in this world."

She herself believed those words had provided a future for herself, at least back in that time she did. Whatever the reason for Andres departing so suddenly and with surprise haste was completely unknown, but she had forced herself to accept it. She knew that she had no way of stopping him and so convincing would have been completely useless. Although she had deeply loved the Spanish man, he did not provide much information on himself and when she had dared to search him, the was next to nothing on him. She had felt the strange suspicion but left it be, knowing that if she dug into those kinds of things, that there was many possibilities of her getting hurt in more ways than one. But she was not the only one that mattered anymore, it was the life inside her that was the most important now. As much as she loved Andres, she would not risk the life of her child in order to find him out, she would simply leave the matter be. 'I can raise this child on my own, I do not need anyone to lean on or barely get by own my own. After all, my paintings are sold at rather high prices.' Clementine thought to herself and looked to her six month pregnant stomach, noting that it had become much larger in these months. She had not been completely alone, she had friends and family to turn to and communicate with, though for the most part she indeed was alone. It was because that she continued to live in Spain, not just because she was waiting for Andres to return to her, but because she loved the country itself.

Clementine's slender fingers gently stroked her stomach, as if comforting the child that was now inside her. The baby still had a few months until Clementine gave birth but the Belgian woman found herself already loving the child already. She did not know the gender of the child yet, wanting to keep it as a surprise for herself, though had no personal preference. By this point in time she had stopped questioning what Andres would have wanted, having the eerie feeling that he would not be coming back or that she would be encountering him any time soon. Happily sighing, the young woman turned away from the balcony to enter her home once again. It was late summer and soon it would be transitioning into autumn, one of her favorite seasons of the year. So her child would be a fall baby, being born in approximately the first couple of weeks of October. Until then, she would remain there, in the villa she had bought, painting to her heart's content. She was not born into a rich family but her paintings sold for high enough prices that she could live off of painting and commissions, just as she had wanted to when she was younger. It was nearly a perfect life, she had concluded in her private thoughts, besides for being a future single mother with a child on the way. But that meant that she would have to work twice as hard for her child, filling in the roles of both mother and father, something that was not too rare in many societies. She was willing to fulfill this task, so long as her child was raised in a happy and loving home, which she would provide. She knew that her family, both parents and brothers, had originally been disappointed with her for starting a 'loose' relationship with a man but had come to understand her feelings over time. Even Agustjn, the oldest of the three siblings, had softened his attitude towards his sister if that was even possible for the man.

Within moments of coming back to the inside of the house, Clementine heard the doorbell ring loudly. Raising an eyebrow, she wondered who it could have been, not having expected any visitors to come to visit. "I'm coming!" She told the visitor waiting for herself outside, as if the could actually hear her from outside the walls. Making sure that she was presentable, Clementine peered into the mirror with quick interest. She was donning well-fitting maternity clothing and her curly golden hair was as long as ever, reaching the middle of her back by this point in time. She was adjusting her headband that was on her head when she heard the doorbell ringing once again for her to come see her visitor. 'They must be really impatient, I'm not even taking that long!' She thought to herself with a touch of annoyance, carefully fixing her skirt before going to attend to her impending task. She bit into her lip and slowed as she neared her door, now feeling suspicious about the particular visitor that was waiting. But perhaps it really was one of her friends or even family that had come to visit her from another country. With that reassuring thought, Clementine slid her hand around the door handle and pulled it open.

"Are you Clementine Vermeulen?" The voice was deep and heavy with seriousness, causing her to jump back a little. Dressed in a well-tailored, clearly expensive black suit, the Belgian woman had no idea how she would be associated with this kind of man. The man had dark brown hair that was combed neatly but with a weird, long curl that was completely out of his place. She could not see his eyes, as they were hidden by the dark sunglasses that he was donning, even though it was a dark and clouded day in Madrid. From the accent, she had guessed he was of Italian descent, oh, and the suit was from an Italian company as well. Now she was beginning to realize that this meant trouble for both her and the child, if she did not comply with what he was saying.

"Yes, I am Clementine Vermeulen, do you have any business with me?" Before she could make another move, she felt a strong, sturdy hand clench one of her skinny arms with an iron grip and force her out of her own home. She gasped out loudly in pain but kept the tears in, not wanting to humiliate herself anymore. She attempted to look back at her attacker but her head was forced down and soon enough the misty grey of the day was replaced by an eerie, strangled darkness that made her feel too uncomfortable. She was feeling faint and just as she thought she was not going to last through this, she heard the words of that man.

"We require the information on Andres Fernandez Carriedo and where he might be located at the moment."


End file.
